Darkness Without and Within
by BrideinNoir
Summary: Alice has returned to Underland, but just as the Hatter predicted, can remember nothing. A darkness the likes of which has never been seen in Underland holds everyone captive... Can our favorite mad milliner and champion save Underland once more? And this time, will he be able to make her stay? Will Alice learn the lesson she is truly meant to learn?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The wind and sea foam may not have been visible at this time of night, but she could feel it, and therefore knew it to be there. But there was something else, something that she felt she had forgotten. Like when you forget something very important, and it is there just beneath the skin, waiting for you to simply find the words to paint it into existence. The stars above twinkled mischievously, almost as if they knew, both what the young woman had forgotten and how she could remember, but they remained silent. Although she wasn't sure why, but somehow she almost expected them to speak. Bathed in the light of the iridescently shining moon, the restless blonde leaned over the railing and stared into the blackness below. She knew, that whatever she had forgotten, whatever she had lost, was very important and thus it was keeping her awake at night as of late. Today she had been closer than ever to remembering when they had stopped into port and she had found an intricately adorned looking glass, the metal patterned with delicate butterflies and eccentric toadstools. She had been going about the marketplace, overseeing the restocking of provisions when a curiously blue butterfly had fluttered just before her eyes and a spark of recognition had ignited in her eyes as she had followed the damnably elusive creature. It had led her to the mirror itself and though something was there, just beneath the skin, just beneath her eyelids she simply could not place it and so the spark had died. She had, however purchased said looking glass and had her men haul it to her cabin. As she took in the night air and sighed Alice thought to herself that she must be falling even more deeply into madness. "I suppose I should lie down, whether sleep claims me or not!". Taking one last peer into the never-ending abyss of the sea Alice Kingsleigh retired to her chambers for perhaps the last time.

Alice awoke to the sound of waves and rain and the desolate creaking of well worn planks. Judging by the lack of light filtering into her cabin she postulated that it must still be early morn, and therefore rolled over with the intent to simply slip back into her dreams. However just before her eyelids met she spotted the very same curious blue butterfly from the marketplace setting upon her bedpost. "What kind of butterfly finds itself upon a ship in the middle of the ocean?" she asked herself. "Very curious". She reached out to touch the creature, and even though she half expected it to was still very shocked when it spoke.

"Stupid girl" it said in a low and disapproving tone "you've gone and forgotten all about us haven't you?".

Alice sat up with an indignant huff and as she did the butterfly took flight. Jumping out of her bed she made to follow the rude creature and give it a piece of her mind but was resoundingly astounded when it flitted straight into the rather curious mirror sitting unassumingly beside her writing desk. With cornflower hued eyes opened hysterically wide she ambled to aforementioned looking glass and stopped in front of it. Looking around to ensure that her cyan orbs had not deceived her, and indeed finding no cerulean insect anywhere in the vicinity she began to intently study this mysterious mirror only to discover nothing immediately odd about it. Upon closer inspection however she noticed that the reflection looking back at her was not her own but instead the image of a midnight tea party set in a fog filled clearing. Tendrils of the gloomy mist swirled around a long table laden for tea, and though she couldn't make out much, she could clearly see a derelict windmill behind the right side of the table and a wildly overgrown forest encroaching upon the peaceful tea imbibers.

Only intending to gain a closer inspection Alice leaned in closer, becoming immensely baffled when she found herself standing inside of the previously viewed moor! A quick examination of the area revealed her initial analysis to be correct. Trees and brambles surrounded this dreary area. A windmill that seemed as if it had sat unused forever sat nestled amidst tall weeds and briars to her immediate right. The table itself was also surrounded by wild growth, vines and wild grass intruding upon what she felt must once have been a bright and cheerful place. With fog swirling around her Alice made her way to the table laden for tea only to find the participants in deep slumber. A hare, a doormouse, and a rather eccentric looking man with the strangest orange hair she had ever seen sat slumped at the tea time table, snoring vociferously. The curious young lady approached the head of the table, but didn't make it very far before she was forced to doge an incoming tea cup.

"You're LATE fooooooorrr..." The hare intoned in his sleep "TEA!". The slumbering rabbit mumbled a few other mostly incoherent things before resuming snoring, as if he had never opened his mouth to begin with. Slightly wary Alice studied the scene before her carefully. Should she wake them? She was unsure where she was, or how to get back. Though perhaps, she thought, she should really be in shock. After all things like this simply do not happen. One does not find themselves somehow magically transported elsewhere, wherever else may be. But wouldn't it be terribly rude to interrupt their sleep? Still, she reasoned, she absolutely must get back to her ship and her crew. She approached the man with the wild and flaming hair, having felt that he seemed familiar to her somehow. She studied the man closely. He was quite alarmingly beautiful she decided. Skin as pale as the alabaster she had traded for in Egypt, and hair as orange as the carrots she so detested. It was a different kind of orange though, she surmised, maybe perhaps a bit more pleasant than carrots. His eyelids were painted, she noticed, in blue and green, and as she dropped her gaze she noticed that his lips were the most appealing crimson she had ever seen in her life. Somehow though she felt as if she had seen this odd man before, in a dream, or a nightmare. She couldn't be sure which it was.

If you asked Alice if it was her intention she would swear to you that she never meant to kiss the strange and beautiful man. There was simply something so familiar, so comforting about the man. So she did. As she studied his lips she unconsciously crept closer, the thought of what those lips might feel like only crossing her mind right before they met. Imagine her surprise when the colorful man's eyes flew wide open to reveal the most beautiful set of orbs in lime green!

Alice jumped back in surprise, as if a woman burned! And indeed she had felt a, scorching sensation! She examined her hands, searching for evidence of the fire that had possessed her only a few mere seconds ago, but could find nothing. Lifting her head to peer at the curious man she'd awoken she found that he also seemed to be struggling with what to say or do. It isn't everyday, after all, that such a bonnie lass awakens you with a kiss! She noted, now that he had awakened, that there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he were perpetually tired. Belatedly, she had to admit to herself that she felt a twinge of guilt at waking him from his obviously much needed slumber.

"Alice! My Alice! You've returned!" The ginger exclaimed. The man ecstatically waved his arms about for a few moments before promptly standing so eagerly that he knocked his chair over and practically rushed Alice, enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.

Despite the suddenness of the embrace and the lack of knowledge as to this mans identity Alice felt as if she had somehow come home. It was a disconcerting thought and Alice tried her very best to push it from her mind, but it was strangely difficult to focus, or even breathe, with his arms around her so. Enveloped in his arms and the smell of tea and licorice Alice almost forgot where she was, or where she should be going more specifically. She slowly, and without even realizing it wrapped her own limbs around him, returning the embrace. She buried her face in his chest, such a wide chest really, surely it was highly inappropriate to embrace so fondly a man she didn't even know, but it just felt right.

Suddenly the curiosity who's arms were wrapped about her stilled and Alice feared he had gone back into his deep slumber, until he pushed her away hurriedly and looked into her eyes. Once bright green eyes were instead blazing coals of red fire, and the cheerful face that had seemed so familiar became dark and bereft. Alice was already quite frightened when the man opened his mouth to speak. " **Ye havnae forgotten about us have ye?** " The man groaned at her extended silence even as he covered his face with his hands. " **Ye promised ye'd come back soon, and nauw Underland is in ruin! You doona even ken who I am!** ".

The man turned around, and back facing Alice, went into a mad rage throwing anything and everything within his reach and shouting incoherent obscenities in a thick Scottish brogue. Nothing was immune from his rage. Teapots, utensils, plates and cups themselves all became victims of his fury one after the other. He upturned a table and even a few chairs until he began pulling at his own hair while he sobbed hysterically.

It wasn't until Alice placed her feminine hand upon his shoulder and whispered, mostly to herself really, "Hatter?" that he stopped and became as still as a statue. She paused, licking her lips and trying to taste the words as if it would make everything clear. "I... is that what this place is? Underland? I must confess that while I am not entirely sure where I am or who you are... You seem so familiar to me. Like a dream turned nightmare you see, and I recall a hatter... and a... futterwacken...? No but that word makes no sense. Futter... flitterwagon... fiddler-whacker..." Alice mumbled on to herself lost deep in thought and trying to fit the pieces together.

Meanwhile the eccentrically prismatic man's colors began to return in muted form as he looked upon his Alice doing her very model best to remember. "Aye, I am indeed the Mad Hatter" he spoke as he turned around. He grabbed her chin and lifted her eyes up to view his. What Alice saw damn near broke her heart. The hatters eyes where gray and lifeless with sorrow. As a single tear dropped from the white lash of his left eye. "Alice I-WE waited so long for you to return. Why didn't you come back?"

Alice noticed that the man had a slight and endearing lisp when he spoke.

"I am terribly sorry, I don't remember such a promise of course, but you certainly seem like an honest fellow... Wait... You act as if I have been here before..?" Although she was not sure that it was quite the right way to ask a question it was one nevertheless.

"But you have Alice! Are you not THE Alice anymore? What has happened to your muchness? We must find it! All over again it seems. Our Champion..." The milliner shook his head in sorrow before continuing "but Underland is in even worse shape than before Alice. And everyone is sleeping. There won't be any Absalom, nor Queen to assist you this time.".

"I am truly sorry dear Hatter but I simply wish to get back home. I apologize profusely for the trouble but could you perchance tell me how I may return home?"

" **Aye! O' course ye only want tae abandon us again!** " Hatter yelled in his outlandish brogue. His eyes were struggling to keep up with his emotions and were flickering between that oh-so morose gray and the flaming rouge that Alice had been so frightened by earlier.

"Oh I am so dreadfully sorry Alice, I just can't seem to-"

" **Ne'er comin when ye mean tae, always leavin when yer needed most! Slurvish, slackish-** "

" _I'm fine"_ the now once more chromatic milliner wheezed. He ambled to his chair, picked it up, and aimlessly slumped into it before bringing his fingers to his forehead, rubbing as if to ease a headache. He paused to take a breath and think of how to word his next sentence. "I am afraid, my dear Alice that the White Queen is the only one who can help you get back, and she is currently slumbering just as I was.".

"So we simply go wake her up!" Alice chirped as she made to take a step towards the woods. She was so delighted to discover that there was indeed a way for her to return that she forgot that she did not know where said Queen might be.

Hatter watched her stride towards the trees and struggled for a minute with himself before grinding out " **Doona think it'll be simple as tha' lass. No' a soul kent where tha Queen vanished tae chuss a'fore this dark an' gloom encroached.** "

Alice stopped mid step and collapsed into herself then. That was it, she was never getting home. Alice wept at the idea. Whatever would she do? She sat upon the ground and folded herself within, trying to determine what to do next.

Meanwhile Hatter studied Alice. She had grown. He surmised that she was a full grown woman now. Truthfully she had been a woman last time she was here, and ever did the Hatter know that. Still. She had filled out, it would appear. Hips no longer girlish but wide and ripe, breasts plump and full. Her legs had grown impossibly long, he decided, and her face too had matured. The softness of childhood was fully gone from her now, replaced instead with the sophistication of womanhood. Her hair it seemed was the only thing that never changed. Still as wild and free as ever. Oh how he would love to thread his fingers through that hair as he yanked her closer to his lips. An image then, of him and her, as one, and yet, as entirely separate beings coming together again and again painted itself behind his eyelids. In his minds eye he would devour her lips even as he devoured her very being. He would claim her heart with hands, and teeth, and tongue. He would run his hands down the length of her back, stopping at her firm buttocks. Then he would lift her legs and she would wrap them around him as he ground mercilessly against her core, seeking both the poison that was this passion and the antidote to rid themselves of it. She would mewl as his hands mapped every inch of her body, and she would cry for him in ecstasy as he pushed one, two, maybe even three fingers inside of her. And only when she was ready to burst apart at the seams would he take her. And take her he would-

"Of course I will help you Alice!" The hatter himself looked startled as he realized that he just interrupted his very own thoughts. " _Probably for the best"_ he thought to himself dryly. "Perhaps I even know where to start!"

Alice shot up with a smile upon her face. Instantly relieved she rushed her new guide and embraced him firmly. The Hatter could only believe that she would not be so quick to embrace him if she was aware of what it did to him. The White be praised, but he was a man, and although she did not know him he knew her very well. He should have begged her not to go, back when she was absolutely Alice. This not Alice was not HIS Alice. Not the Alice that he loved and cherished, but they shared a face and his body was oh so eager. He was sure too, that as soon as she could she would be off again. What chance did a mad hatter have for the love of a champion? And yet it was not in his nature to refuse her.

And so she followed him into the woods and down a path filled with danger and adventure, the mercurial milliner and his not quite Alice, off to save Underland once more.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

The woods surrounding the dirt, and, ever so occasional pebble road that the duo was now marching upon were eerily silent. It would be easy to believe that this was some vast unconquered corner of the world for the path was nearly overgrown with bramble and brush. Tall grass swayed silently in the night breeze in patches throughout the less than oft traveled road, and one could barely see the sky for the tree canopies overlapping above.

As Alice and her new found companion walked quietly through the woods they had much time to think independently. Alice, ever more sure now that she must be dreaming, had tried to pinch herself several times in order to wake up. This had earned her a wounded expression from her traveling companion and guide and had not netted her any results and therefore she decided it was in vain. Dead leaves and grass crunched and rustled beneath their feet and it wasn't long until the ever talkative Alice found the quiet to be oppressive and opened her mouth to speak. She couldn't think of what to say however, nor where to begin a conversation in such a bizarre setting, so she promptly shut it, only to open it all over again. Quickly deciding otherwise and cursing her indecision Alice was not amused to hear a chuckle from her colorfully garbed friend. Giving him a somewhat childish glare she resumed to marching in silence. Without anything to keep her mind occupied her brain began to wander as she took in the man's choice of dress. His hands were bandaged and she imagined that there must be many callouses. His fingers were somehow incredibly long, almost impossibly so, and there were thimbles on the middle finger of his right hand, and the index finger of his left. His jacket was worn and a sort of greenish brown and oh so plain compared to his outrageous bow tie that almost seemed to have a life of its own with its pastel water painted flowers. Out of his jacket sleeves came loose white lace sleeves and across his checkered vest and jacket were strung rolls of thread in every color imaginable. His pants were black pinstriped with flowered vines climbing upwards of his right leg and shoes that looked too old, worn, and tan sat upon his mismatchingly socked feet. And upon his head was, perhaps, the most loved and well worn looking top hat Alice had ever seen. It boasted a brown lacy material with a large magenta sash tied around its base. The sash fell down from his hat well past his shoulder blades. Tucked into the aforementioned sash on the right were a few odd feathers, and to the left a few mismatching hatpins.

All in all Alice had to incur that the man was indeed very odd looking. But to Alice perhaps this only added to his appeal. He seemed, to her, other-worldly in his beauty. Quite of a sudden Alice realized she didn't even know this man's proper name!

"I apologize, I ought to have asked this long before, but might I know you're name?" She asked him as she picked up her pace in an attempt to close the distance between them. How could she know that there was more than psychical distance between the two of them?

"Hatter" He answered quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly, for it was an eager sort of sound. Almost like the sound of one in pain. And indeed he was.

"No! That simply will not do! You must have a real and proper name and I must know it. It simply will not do to keep referring to you as 'The Hatter' 'Him' or 'That Man'!". Alice, for her part, was only trying to be polite if the truth be told. Unawares however, she had both caused the hatter pain and pleasure. For where was she referring to him besides in her head? She certainly had yet to refer to him outside of it! And he rather liked the idea of her thinking of him.

And while the hatter knew that she meant no ill will he couldn't stop the anger and the misery involved in the knowing that she had forgotten even his name. His Alice! His Alice couldn't even remember a silly little name. The thought made him both weep and rage in equal measure. On the other hand the idea that she wanted to know it again sparked a joy in him that he couldn't refute, especially at the idea that she needed a name to attach to him so that she could think of him! Refusing to look at her, for he knew the color of his eyes would betray him, he answered. " **Tarrant. Tarrant Hightopp if'n yeh must ken".** Unable to completely let it go however, he gruffly added **"** **Ay coorse, yoo'd ken 'at if ye hadnae forgotten.** **"**. Unable to remain so close to her with the ball of hurt swarming inside of him he picked up his pace at once, grateful for the gift of long sturdy legs.

Alice was immediately displeased, and was not afeared to show it. With a mighty and indignant huff she closed the gap between them. Panting slightly, for it was not without trouble to keep up with Tarrant who was so much taller. She immediately made to give him an earful when he stopped in his tracks and held up a hand to quiet her. He appeared then, for a moment, to be straining his ears to hear something in the distance. Alice was looking at him expectantly when he turned around and so he merely shrugged his shoulders and continued walking, not bothering to divulge what he may or may not have heard.

"How much farther is it? We've been walking for what must be hours __now _ **Tarrant**_ ". She hollered at him as she attempted to keep up. Alice was aware that she was not exactly being polite, nor scintillating company, but she was tired, hungry, confused, and soaked to the bone due to this fog that caressed her skin, leaving her clothes damp and heavy. She was suddenly grateful that she was only wearing her nightie, despite the humiliation of being very exposed and improper. Her bare feet were sore and she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep deeply, although she was unsure as to how one might sleep in their dreams.

Despite the childish way in which she said his name, as if to annoy him, he could not help but to shiver. The sheer pleasure that rolled down his spine as he imagined the different ways he could make her say his name overwhelmed him, and he could not turn to face her.

"I thought that you were supposed to be my guide! _**Why**_ then are you so intent to ignore me?! This is my dream dammit! Surely I would not create such an awful and rude creature as yourself!" She stomped and planted her feet to the ground refusing to move until he acknowledged her.

Tarrant was livid. So she thought this a dream, did she? Thought him a dream? That one statement in and of itself caused more pain than the eccentric man had ever known. " **Ah huvnae a damned hin' tae say tae ye, sae dinnae ask me tae spick. if ye dinnae wish tae be left behin' Ah strongly suggest ye keep steppin' lass!** **"**.

At that, both defeated and simultaneously furious, Alice snapped shut her mouth and marched after her furious guide.

Later, after what felt like days of marching in silence, Tarrant stopped and began to look around with narrowed eyes. After a few minutes of frantic scanning he motioned for Alice to follow him and led her to what appeared to be an old, and slightly decrepit cabin to the left of their wooded path. The outside of the cabin was covered, as it were, in moss and various other forest lichens and vines. The young lady from London could not have been more pleased to realize they were stopping for a while. The both of them scrambled to find a door only to find it, in fact also, covered in all manner of lichen and vine. Presenting a small knife from his pockets the hatter proceeded to hack away all of the interfering verdancy while Alice stood tiredly to one side. As he yanked open the ill used door the smell of wood, rain, and decay immediately permeated both of their senses causing them to cough and sputter momentarily.

If the outside of the cabin was dilapidated then Alice did not know what to call the inside. There was grass and weeds sprouting from the side of rotting floorboards and bits of floor, wall, and ceiling were missing altogether. There remained some rather unsteady furniture however. A dark and simple wooden chair missing a single leg lay beside a small oval table of the same making in the middle of the meager hut. And in the right lower corner lay a small mattress that had been claimed by moss and mold. There was a stone fireplace, falling to pieces with the passage of time and in front of it hung a clothesline adorned with two relatively small blankets. Through one of the holes in the roof there was an incessant drip that was made even louder and more persistent due to the eerie silence that enveloped this world. It seemed very likely to Alice that nature itself was intent to reclaim not only this hovel, but the entirety of what she had heretofore come to see of this place called Underland.

"Well, I suppose it isn't the cheeriest place in the world, but it will have to do won't it?" Alice muttered, more to herself than anything.

The hatter set to work immediately clearing the rubble from the fireplace and ensuring that the clothesline was far enough away not to ignite once he got a fire going. He then began breaking the table and chair into pieces, starting with the legs, and throwing it all into the fireplace. Before long he had a meager fire licking the inside of the thing seductively, invitingly calling them to set their wet and weary bones down and rest in its warmth and light. Tarrant was the first to shuck his clothes and hang them upon the clothesline, without a care in the world as to who may, or may not be watching. In the meanwhile Alice could not help but to watch, no matter how much she intended to look away. She had to admit that the sight of his pale chest bared stole her breathe away in such a villainous way. He now stood, back to her, divested of all save for his underthings, a small and tight fitting pair of shorts that did little to hide anything from Alice's roaming imagination.

And imagine she did. Broad shoulders tapered into narrow hips and firm buttocks. Though his legs and arms were lean Alice could see muscles rippling just under the surface with his every move. The poor, flustered woman couldn't stop herself from wondering what it would feel like to hang from those strong shoulders as he pushed himself inside of her, perhaps inside of her very soul.

Abruptly he was turned and facing her, and Alice's previously only slightly red face erupted into full flames. **"** **Weel lass, dae ye want tae freeze tae death?** **"**

"He apparantly doesn't even have a modicum of modesty." the embarrassed woman thought to herself. Her mind was in absolute turmoil at the moment, and honestly she couldn't think quite clearly. She was quite grateful then and a tiny bit impressed when she told him that, no, she would not be stripping. "It is absolutely not proper" she said with a slight huff.

 **"Propriety** **be damned lass, ye doona hink Ah aeem tae lit ye freeze tae death dae ye? Ah swear tae ye 'at Ah will be removin' yer clase by force if necessary!** **".** Tarrant realized that he was being gruff and a little cold, but really he did have her best interests in mind and that's what counts right?

Alice sputtered and choked on her outrage for a few moments before gaining her bearings. She was just about to tear into him when he held out for her a clean but simple dress that looked suspiciously similar to the blankets that had been hanging in front of the fireplace not long ago. "When did he..?" she thought to herself. However, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth Alice quickly grabbed the dress and demanded quite fiercely "Turn around!". As soon as his back was to her she quickly disrobed, even removing her knickers, and threw the makeshift dress over her head hastily. It was simple really. It was a multitude of differing colored patches and gathered at her waist. The dress stopped a few inches from her ankles and had small, off the shoulder sleeves. Though simple, Alice had to admit that it was quite beautiful.

It took herculean effort, on the milliners part, not to turn around and take a peek. In fact, he thought, someone really ought to give him an award. He briefly imagined her silky chemise falling from her pale and freckled shoulders slowly, caressing the skin ever so gently before slithering down over her distended nipples and pooling at her feet like white foam. His imagination Alice would then boldly step towards him, arms outstretched and reaching for his person. He would spin around then, and startle both her and himself as he grabbed her wrists, and lifted them above her head. He would drive her back and pin her against the derelict wall and she would look up at him with eyes wide, and astonished, yet surprisingly heated. He then visualized his head leaning down, his tongue would dart out to taste her collarbone before his mouth latched itself to the hollow of her throat. She would moan, her voice acting almost as if by its own volition. He would groan then, just before hitching her up and allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist. Unable to help himself, his fingers would dance lightly up her back to her neck. He would then run those very fingers along the base of her scalp, gently pulling her hair to lift her chin as he ground against her wantonly all the while devouring her throat. With a guttural cry he would wrench his lips away from the slender column of her throat and instead attach them upon her lips like a man starved. He'd devour her very soul, her very being, with harsh and demanding kisses. He'd burn his lips so thoroughly onto hers, his tongue so thoroughly inside of her insidious cavern, that she would never be able to wipe him away. He would be the stain she could never cleanse herself of and thus she would remain with him forever. In his mind he saw himself fumble, fingers shaking with the sheer need of her, with her knickers. Unable to maneuver around them, nor willing to, and unable to remove them without pulling away from her heat, her fire, he would instead rip them off of her before-

"Hatter!" Alice was shouting now. For the past several moments he had stood still and rigid as she attempted to catch his attention. "You can turn around now!".

Tarrant Hightopp knew two things. He had been irrevocably in love with Underlands' champion for a long time now, and she would most definitely be the death of him. He made no move to turn, instead seating himself before the fire. After attempting to readjust himself only to find that it had no effect due to his rather tight, distressingly tight if he were being truthful, underwear he patted the spot beside him on the floor, indicating that she should join him. He needed only wait a few moments before she plopped down beside him rather unceremoniously and began peppering him with incessant and unending questions. Holding his hand out in an attempt to both stop her and gather his thoughts he replied with a gruff **"Please lass.** **Ah dunnae kinn hoo lugs wark in yer upperlain but Ah cannae hear three things aw at ance!** **"**.

Alice immediately believed Tarrant to be quite furious still, so far only having anger to associate with that awfully arousing and unsettling Scottish brogue. If she had only craned her head to look into his eyes she'd see that they were rosy pink. That my friends is the color of a very amorous hatter indeed. Tarrant was indeed quite flustered. But not for the reasons our dear champion might have suspected.

Tarrant inhaled harshly, attempting to calm his stormy and quite inappropriate thoughts before speaking. **"** **Afair Ah can determine whaur we micht begin Ah need tae ken... hoo did ye arrife in Underland thes time?"**.

The blonde at his side was quiet and contemplative momentarily before answering. "A talking butterfly" Alice said "called me stupid and forgetful. Then he disapeared into a mirror in my cabin". She paused for a second before reluctantly adding "I was only examining the image of a tea party in said mirror and suddenly found myself within the curious image".

Tarrant was very astute, you see, and knew in that moment exactly whom they must seek out. **"Absolom"** He muttered. **"We need tae fin' absolom. it was he 'at led ye ben th' mirrur an' 'at means 'at he is likely nae asleep as a' fowk else is. he can help us, ur at leest point us in th' reit direction."**.

"Absolom?" Alice questioned him before setting her head upon his shoulder carelessly. In hindsight perhaps it was not the right thing to do. Or perhaps it was. Out of nowhere the shoulder that she had been laying upon vanished, leaving the young blonde to flail for a minute before finding her balance and sitting upright once more. Tarrant had leapt up and away from her as if she had burnt him. Indignantly Alice exclaimed "Was that really necessary!? You could have just asked me to move you know!".

 **"Ah ken 'at ye ken naethin'! hoo can ye sae easily lay yer heed upon mah shoolder?! th' shoolders ay a man ye claeem nae tae e'en ken, nae tae e'en min'!"** He raked a shaky hand through his cooper mane as he took an equally unsettled breath. Without warning his eyes took on simmering quality and orbs of rosy pink flecked and ringed in red glared down upon the ever confused Alice. **"Dinnae tooch me unless ye ur prepared fur whit will happen. coz Ah swear tae ye 'at Ah wulnae be held accoontable fur mah actions. Ah ne'er coods help myself when it cam tae ye."**.

To say that Alice was startled would have been a vast understatement. But the hatter was not finished yet.

" **Ah watched ye graw up Alice. Ah looked efter ye as a lassie an' kept ye safe. in turn ye waur endeared tae me an' Ah adored ye fur it.** " Tarrant let loose a depreciative and humorless chuckle. **"Hoo was Ah tae ken 'at ye woods come back? An' fully groon at 'at. Th' lest time ye waur haur alice ye waur awreddy a hen. Barely a hen, but ye waur most definitely a hen. Hoo unfortunate fur me 'at Ah hud awreddy considered ye mah Alice! Ah longed fur ye, an' Ah loo'd ye. Ah kept ye safe ance again. In th' end, thocht Ah begged ye tae bide, thocht Ah begged ye nae tae lae me, ye abandoned me anyways shreddin' mah heart tae maur pieces in th' process! An' haur ye ur, ance again come tae tak' mah heart an' destroy it. when will ye be satisfied damn ye?!"**. He groaned as he attempted to reign himself in and gain control of the situation. " **Ah am only a man, alice. A man 'at ye cannae min' aiblins, but a man nontheless. Dae. Nae. Tooch. Me.** ".

Alice always had been possessed of a rather stubborn streak. Mayhaps it was what possessed her to ignore rather than heed her supposedly imaginary hatter. Regardless of just what it was that flitted through her mind at that moment she did the one thing he specifically told her not to. She touched him. She arose to her feet and glared at him defiantly with raised chin and reached a single finger out as if to poke him in childish mockery. Her contumacious finger never made it quite that far because Tarrant swiftly grabbed her wrist and slammed her against the wall behind him. Alice was surprised to find that the air did not abandon her lungs until after, when his face was suddenly remarkably close to her own. His gaze burned holes into her as he leveled her with it and Alice found that she was not sure if she even wanted to breathe. The intensity with which he looked upon her both frightened her and made her feel giddy all at once. Before she could protest his lip were upon hers and he was drinking her in like a man dying of thirst. Hard and yet pliant lips ravaged her own and when his tongue laved across her lips, seeking entrance, she acquiesced without hesitance.

Before either knew it they were consuming each other. Just as in his earlier fantasy he hiked her legs up and she did not falter, but instead wrapped her legs around his waist. Something was happening to her, she thought absently. Her body was on fire and he was both the cause and the cure. She didn't even have the presence of mind to be mortified when he ground against her heat causing her to emit a moan in a husky, sensual voice that did not even sound like her own.

Tarrant was in heaven. It was one thing to think of such things, to daydream or imagine them. But this was really Alice, although maybe at this moment she was only not quite Alice, but it was really his Alice all the same. His swollen member ached so desperately that he felt as if he would burst at the seams if he could not be inside of her. His hands seemed to be everywhere all at once, and yet nowhere that really counted. Certainly his hands were most definitely not where they wanted to be. The hatter felt his shaft pulse in excitement as a delicious moan was delivered unto his ears almost as if meant for an offering. It was music to his ears assuredly, but to his manhood it almost proved to be his undoing.

The fire between them still had yet to cool when touching and tasting were no longer enough. Tarrant fumbled urgently with his underwear, pulling them down only far enough to free his shaft before lifting the hem of her dress and plunging his member inside of her in one swift motion. He knew then that she had been innocent. A tiny part of him, in the back of his mind, was mortified at this. At what he had done. But he was too far lost to the pleasure of finally having Alice, his Alice, for his own. He tried his very best to be still and to give her time to become accustomed to his girth. In her defense she did not push, or pull away. He looked upon her face to find her eyes screwed shut, tears lingering upon her cheeks. Her walls constricted around him as she tensed and his breath came out in a loud and deflated _whoosh._ **"Be still loove. Calm yerself. If ye tense loch 'at Ah willnae be able tae control myself an' Ah fully intend tae make ye feel every oonce ay pleasure 'at Ah tak' frae ye."**.

At the sound of his Scottish brogue now, of all times, her breathe hitched and her throat constricted. But not before loosing upon his ears a subtle moan. Subtle or not the sound went straight to his manhood and reverberated causing him to lose all control. He began to pound into her in earnest, hips pistoning in and out. **"Ye loch it when Ah spick tae ye loch thes dae ye?"**. Her answering moan tore a guttural one from his own lips. He gripped her ass even tighter as he ravaged her body, driving into her with such force that the her breasts broke free of the confinement of her dress. Tarrant buried his face in the junction between her neck and shoulder. **"Yoo'll nae escape me noo. Ah am gonnae fuck ye sae guid 'at Ah will lae a piece ay me within yer sool. Ah will taint ye wi' mah loove an' ye will beg me fur mair. Ah will fuck ye until aw ye can hink abit is me an' mah cock. until ye hae nae choice but tae loove me in return. Ah will fuck ye sae weel 'at ye will ne'er hink tae leave me again!"**.

It was all Alice could do to hold onto her hatter's neck, writhing as she was under his ministrations. It felt so good! Sweat and moans mixed together creating an endless and beautiful symphony as old as time itself. It wasn't enough, she wasn't nearly close enough to this beautiful and tortured man. Her hands scrambled to find purchase, anywhere that she could grab to pull her body closer to his. Welts formed under her fingers tips as she clawed his back in a desperate attempt to close the gap between them. Her moans grew in volume as he drove into her again and again, his rough and steady rhythm more than her body could take.

Tarrant could feel her cunt spasming around his cock and knew that she would soon hit her peak. He began to drive his length even deeper inside her desperate to meet their end together. Feeling his own end coming to a near, and refusing to finish before her, he reached down between their enjoined bodies and pinched her womanly pearl. Her body went slack in his arms before breaking into rapturous convulsions as she screamed his name to the heavens. With one final thrust he buried himself inside of her and emptied his seed within. The quite mad milliner fell to his knees upon the floor, his Alice still within his embrace as they hit the ground. They stayed just like that, arms tightly wound around each other for the rest of the night, neither wanting to face the realities of tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**TERMS:**

 **gonnae-no=stop**

 **dreich -wet**

 **stoat=wicked**

 **dug=dog**

 **'min=remember**

Chapter Three

Alice knew. Not everything mind you, but she knew. It was in the way that someone might know without a shadow of a doubt that something is real without touching it, without seeing it. Blind faith. Except not. There were flashes. Orange hair and a gap toothed smile, a shared moment upon a balcony bathed in moonlight. She no longer thought the man was familiar. She knew that she knew him. He was no stranger. The strength of the conviction with which she knew this was staggering, and for a moment she was utterly overwhelmed with the longing to remember. She ran her shaky hands through her sun-kissed waves as she tried to steady her breathing. She would find her muchness.

Unbidden a flashback of the night before came to her mind. _Before either knew it they were consuming each other. Just as in his earlier fantasy he hiked her legs up and she did not falter, but instead wrapped her legs around his waist. Something was happening to her, she thought absently. Her body was on fire and he was both the cause and the cure. She didn't even have the presence of mind to be mortified when he ground against her heat causing her to emit a moan in a husky, sensual voice that did not even sound like her own._ She had known it then. As his lips had devoured hers, even before, as his eyes had seen into her very soul. A thousand images of this delicious man had invaded her very psyche, her very being. And though she didn't remember, she knew. Suddenly the wall that she had been leaning on was not nearly enough support. The shaken blonde drew a hesitant breath even as her heart raced at the implications. If Tarrant Hightopp was real, so too must be the entirety of this dream-like world called Underland.

Tarrant Hightopp could be accused of many things. Being mad, of course, was chief among them. But his madness, he despaired, had crossed the line this time. The mad man was currently wearing holes in the decaying floor behind where the table had been on the other side of the room. Safely away from his prey, though whether the distance was for himself or for her he was not certain. She _had_ been his prey last night too, except for the negligent part of his mind that refused to admit that she had allowed it. She had _wanted_ it, had not stopped him. The poor man felt like tearing at his hair and gnashing his teeth. He had deflowered his Alice, it had been her first time and he had been so rough with her. _**"Unforgivable tae tooch 'er,"**_ he thought to himself _**"Lit aloyn tae tak' 'er loch a wild beest fur 'er first time."**_. He was absolutely disgusted with himself. What had he done? Would she be tainted now? Would his madness spread to her through his touch, the very thing that gave him joy? And now that he had tasted more, could he truly settle for a smile? For a platonic hug? No. He had grown greedy in that fractional slip in time, and now her innocent affection would no longer be enough to sustain him. But what if she did remember, and hated him for it? Or even worse, what if she died just as his family did? Tarrants' life had been no small amount of tragedies piled atop another. Could he survive the loss? As a precarious breath passed through his trembling lips he had to admit that, no, he could not. His pacing increased tenfold.

"Tarrant..." Suddenly the hatter went rigid. Speaking...she was speaking! Alice attempted the distance between them, arm outreached and hesitantly searching for his person. Her approach was gentle, almost the same as one attempting the approach of a spooked animal or frightened child. Unable to quash the thought, Hatter wondered under which category he belonged. Perhaps he was more akin to a snarling and vicious beast.

She was before him now, having abandoned her corner of the cabin after watching the way in which he had angrily strode back and forth upon the weary cabin floor. He could not look upon her face, couldn't face the look of rejection in her eyes so he spun around and in the process bared his back to her. Oh, he would forever be the mad milliner who had the audacity to fall for Underlands most favored champion! Underlands only champion really, but that was besides the point. He had no right, no place next to her! How could he hope for the love of someone so incredibly exceptional? It was hopeless, and now he was doomed. The memory of her would haunt him, he was sure of it, for as long as he would live.

Before he could register Alice had thrown herself upon his back in a quite unreserved embrace. Her breasts had been tucked safely away within the confines of her garb, but he could still feel the heat of them upon his bare back. He groaned aloud even as he felt shame and desire coursing through him. **"Alice, ye hae tae gonnae-no. please, dinnae tooch me. Dinnae tempt me. please... Dinnae torture me sae."**.

The blonde let go of his back as her breath puffed indignantly. She spun him around so that they were standing face to face, mere inches from the other, and with fire burning in her cyan orbs told him "My dear Tarrant if you are so inflicted it is only by your own doing. Do not perceive your self induced trauma at having bedded such a woefully inadequate partner as my fault! I am most aggrieved that it was so horrible for you. I swear this instant you shall never have to endure it again!".

To say that Tarrant was shocked would only be a woeful understatement. His mouth hung open, shock evident upon his eccentric face. For once he was quite tongue tied and couldn't perceive of what he might say. The irate blonde before him turned away from him, every intention of storming away from him evident in her demeanor. Unable to stop himself he pulled her back flush against his chest before releasing a strangled groan. **"Is 'at whit ye hink?"**. He murmured quietly. The stiffness with which she held herself gave him a most obvious and resounding yes. He licked his suddenly parched lips before replying huskily. **"Och Alice. 'at coods nae be farther frae th' truth. ye hink Ah did nae enjoy myself? Hoo coods Ah nae? Th' loove ay mah life dreich an' silken, writhin' beneath mah tooch, envelopin' me in 'er heat..."** his throat cracked under the strain of desire that such a confession elicited in him **"Hoo coods a man want fur mair? Believe me when Ah say 'at Ah mair than enjoyed it. Tae hae ye writhin' oan mah cock has aye bin a particular desire ay mine ye see. If Ah coods shaw ye... Th' things Ah woods dae tae ye alice...Oh th' stoat, stoat things Ah woods dae tae ye..."**. He felt her frame shudder with desire within his embrace and his own body responded only too willingly. He buried his face in the hair draped haphazardly upon her shoulder and inhaled deeply. If she could see his eyes... He bit back the moan rising from within. **"Ye hae nae idea hoo ye affect me. ye ur aw innocence...ain yit Ah defiled ye loch a dug. mebbe Ah am a dug, yer first time shoods hae bin special, romantic. Insteid Ah jumped ye loch a rabid dug in heat when ye cannae e'en min' fa Ah am. Mah sham has naethin' fur tae div wi' whether ur nae Ah enjoyed myself."**. Tumultuous emotions slithered away inside of his heart and Tarrant could not bear it. Before Alice could retort or provoke his inner beast he pulled away, leaving her stunned in his absence.

She stood there, shock and outrage flowing through her veins, scorching her from the inside out. How dare he work her up so only to walk away?! Her gaze snapped in his direction, mouth set and intent on delivering her own opinions on the matter. Her throat, however, dried up as she watched the muscles in his back ripple as he pulled his pants on. It was such an inappropriate time for the realization, but the fact that even mad hatters must put their pants on one leg at a time oddly amused her. Rage forgotten, Alice approached.

By now he was already dressed, and merely fumbling with his buttons. Slender fingers reached forward and deftly buttoned him, then reached up to knot his tie. "Tarrant..." the uncertainty in her voice was clear. How to say the words? How to make him see? She didn't know. "I do not think of you as a dog. I very much enjoyed it myself..." Alice blushed madly as she continued, gaze looking up to meet his own. "I would like it very much if you would show me everything you want to do to me...". She became breathless at her own suggestion. She watched as her mercurial milliners gaze darkened, molten red and rosy pink meshing and swirling together in a seemingly endless battle. She nearly fainted at the intensity.

Tarrant groaned both inwardly and out as he embraced his Alice. _**"Dammit Tarrant gonnae-no! gonnae-no thes reit noo!"**_ His mind screamed. But his body and

heart seemed unwilling to cooperate. He leaned forward, embracing her in an iron grip.

"Tarrant?" Came Alice's' confused and rather quiet response as he crushed her to his chest.

But he couldn't move, couldn't speak. Not yet. Lifting his head slightly, he gently trailed his lips along the shell of her ear, tiny puffs of breath escaped and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention. He scraped his teeth then, along her earlobe, before standing back. It was very hard not to admire the sight before him as she turned to face him. Alice was flushed, and her eyes were half lidded in arousal. But his senses were quick to return. **"Ye dinnae ken whit ye ur sayin'."**. He was rigid then, as he turned away. His defenses were back, and more daunting than ever. But poor Alice, having not been all that interested in men until the prior night and having been exceedingly virginal, did not understand. She felt as if someone had slapped her, and it stung in a heart wrenching sort of way. It must be her fault. That is all she could think of. She hadn't been good enough, hadn't known enough. It seemed perfectly wondrous when it was there, in the moment, but now he was so displeased. It must have something to do with her!

Tarrant was highly aware that she probably believed this to be the case, but it didn't matter. Perhaps it would enable him to keep his hands off of her, and his heart intact enough to survive the coming storm. Because she was Alice. And because Alice always leaves. He had no desire to deliberate any further, and so, he strode to the door, holding it open for his companion. **"It is time fur us tae lae Alice. we hae far tae travel."**. He promptly exited the musty hut after the champion of Underland, and turned left. He immediately began following the very same path that they had retired from the night prior. Alice followed in silence, head bowed and spirit flagging.

After having stopped for a small lunch the duo had once again taken to the weathered passage. Lunch had been an odd affair, and so somber that Alice might have sworn someone had died. Tarrant had promptly produced tea and sandwiches, almost as if from thin air, spread out a table-cloth (and really Alice had to wonder where he had been hiding that!) and proceeded to sit only long enough to eat. Then, before Alice could register where everything was, it was gone and they were once again beating the path with their feet.

 **"We need tae fin' Absalom an' th' fungi forest is as guid as a onie place tae start."**. Tarrant said abruptly, startling Alice from her musings. As Alice looked forward in the hatters' direction she could see the vague outline of the Fungi Forests' giant toadstools in the distance. Overjoyed that they would soon be reaching some sort of progress Alice bolted into a full sprint and quickly caught up to the hatter. "What are you so glum for?" She asked him. Her spirits were considerably lifted at the idea that she might finally be closer to getting back to where she belonged. So lifted , in fact, that she forgot all about her feelings of rejection as she danced around him impishly, poking him every which way, before leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek. However, Tarrant turned his face with incredibly impeccable timing. It was his full intention to quash her vexatious exuberance, but instead he now stood lips to lips with a very blonde and very beautiful Alice! She backed away slowly, hesitantly, blushing incessantly. She was busy examining her toes when she felt a hand beneath her chin. He lifted her chin so gently, she could almost believe that he wasn't really there.

The kiss was gentle. Sweet and slow. His left hand was warm against her cheek, and his right hand cradled the back of her head, pulling her ever deeper into the kiss. No words were said as their lips brushed gently against each others'. This time neither pulled away. They stood, noses touching, attempting to catch their breath. Alice wanted so badly to touch, but she was so uncertain. Of herself, of him. Her heart was rioting within her chest and her brain certainly wasn't helping matters. She really couldn't sort this all out. But the things that this man made her feel were exciting, frightening, and freeing all at once. She felt alive and vibrant, a stark contrast to this endless night around her. _"Maybe,"_ she thought to herself _"I should start out small."_. So she reached down and enfolded her hand within his. Without further delay their walk resumed, hand in hand, a hesitant smile upon her face. And although Tarrant was not smiling, Alice could tell that the somber mood had lifted slightly. Such a shame, then, that it was not to last.

A shrill and inhumane cry pierced through the void of sound that surrounded them just as they cleared the trees. The pair looked up and Alice released a frightened cry as a swirling mass of shadows with glowing crimson eyes swooped down upon them. It was a vague and shadowy outline of a great horned bird, wisps of smoke dancing around it's dark silhouette. The enormous and incorporeal wraith's vapor wings were spread, pitch black, swirling and dancing in the still air leaving a trail of mist behind. In a flash dagger tipped claws dug into her shoulders lifting her off of the ground. Tarrant screamed, an angry battle cry upon his lips as the penumbral wraith lifted back into the air and carried his Alice away to a destination unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: So, just a quick disclaimer, I do not own any rights to Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland movies, this tale was simply inspired by his works and by the severe and depressing lackage of good Tarrant/Alice Fanfics. I have not written in a while and my life can be a little hectic at times so I may not always post quickly but I promise not to leave this work undone. I have a whole plot mapped out and everything so it'd be rather depressing not to use it. I hope that everyone enjoys it and please do feel free to review and let me know what you really think! Constructive criticism is always welcome and I am so very honored and overjoyed to know that my story is being read. Without further ado, I give you chapter four!**

Chapter Four

 _ **Previously**_

 _ **A shrill and inhumane cry pierced through the void of sound that surrounded them just as they cleared the trees. The pair looked up and Alice released a frightened cry as a swirling mass of shadows with glowing crimson eyes swooped down upon them. It was a vague and shadowy outline of a great horned bird, wisps of smoke dancing around it's dark silhouette. The enormous and incorporeal wraith's vapor wings were spread, pitch black, swirling and dancing in the still air leaving a trail of mist behind. In a flash dagger tipped claws dug into her shoulders lifting her off of the ground. Tarrant screamed, an angry battle cry upon his lips as the penumbral wraith lifted back into the air and carried his Alice away to a destination unknown.**_

One might assume that Tarrant Hightopp would fall to his knees in grief, rage abandoning him, leaving his heart cold and numb after having the love of his life snatched away so dramatically. One would be wrong. Alice's screams still sang inside of his ears hours after she was abducted, but his rage did not decrease in the slightest. Something within the mad hatter had snapped as his beloved was carried away, it was as if someone had pulled the lever to activate his fury and had snapped the stick in half, disabling the wrathful emotions retreat. He would find her. But how? It wasn't as if one could track a bird made entirely of shadow! Suddenly an idea struck him. Absalom would know, even if he didn't know what they had to do he would at least know where the damnable creature had nested. And, if he were lucky, how to kill it.

The tenebrous dark blanketed most all things from view. If there had been anyone to see, they would most assuredly have had to squint to see at all. Trees surrounded the moorland, and the grass, tainted from the Jaberwoks venom and fire, was patchy at best. Piles of rubble lay about, remains of a time when there had been love and life within that place. Only one home, a tiny cottage remained, and only just. It was little more than three walls and half a roof at this point. Amongst the rubble and blood stained soil lay a young woman, still and unmoving though breathing. Her hair, the color of wheat, was partially plastered to her head by blood and soil.

Alice awoke with a start. Her head was pounding and her vision swimming before her eyes. There was a sharp pain in her shoulders, and the sensation of something sticky and wet. She placed a hand upon her left shoulder and gasped at the searing sensation. The champion lifted her hand into her field of view and found her hand covered in blood. Her stomach lurched and her world spun out of control as she heaved the contents of her stomach upon the ground beneath her. With legs like jello she attempted to stand, only for her knees to buckle beneath the weight. Her consciousness faded even before her collapse upon the soil.

She could not tell how long she had been out when she came to. The umbral state of things was consistent and she had no point of reference. Her vision was still blurred, and Alice found that she could not move. She struggled to stay conscious, but could not stop herself from fading in and out. At one point she believed she heard a voice "Find the White Queen you stupid, stupid girl" it had said. But really she could have imagined it. Then came images, flashes of color and sound beneath the lids of eyes too heavy to keep open. There was a mouse with a dress-makers pin for a sword, and a huge and frightening hairy beast. The mouse behind her eyes was called Mally apparently, as this Mally introduced herself to Alice over and over in her head. Suddenly the scene changed and the tiny and not so cowardly mouse was carrying around an eyeball. The scene transitioned and the brave mouse was standing atop the giant beast with a fire in her eyes as she drove her tiny sword into the creatures eye and escaped with the eye still skewered upon her weapon. Vaguely she recalled that mice were supposed to be timid creatures. Suddenly Mally was spinning away, growing smaller and smaller inside her minds eye until she was swallowed by the void inside Alice's head and Alice herself was standing inside of a dog house eyeball in hand. She was here for something, something sharp and shiny, "What is it?" she asks herself. She watches as image Alice gives the creature it's eye and then sees no more.

When Tarrant found her she was pale and bloodied and still. Fear had bubbled from within, searing through his being like a hot white iron at the idea that his Alice might be dead. He had held his small knife before her nose and relief had flooded him when he saw the fog upon his dagger. His relief, however, was short lived. Though she was not dead she was gravely wounded. Absalom had an uncanny ability to appear when most needed, and this was how it had been that Tarrant found Alice near death in that horrid place. The very field in which his family had died. Inside he was a riotous mess. It was a bad omen, destiny, inescapable... Alice was going to die. _**"NAE!"**_. He screamed. He screamed at himself, and he screamed at Alice. He begged her to wake up, and he promised to forgive her if she would. Nothing he said caused her to stir. With trembling hands he caressed her cheek. He had to stop to the bleeding...he had to. But his fingers would not stop shaking. A canteen was pulled from his inner coat pocket, and he set to work, intent to clean and dress her wounds. The dress that he had hastily put together for her was not nearly enough protection from such abuse, long and narrow gashes where the foul creature had dug into her shoulders bled freely. After thoroughly cleaning the wounds upon her shoulders he was relieved to find that they were not excessively deep. Still, they would require stitches, and Tarrant was suddenly both grateful for his skill set, and horrified to have to be the one to tend to his love in this way. He immediately started rattling off the things he would need, moving through a mental checklist. Fire, so that he could sterilize the needle, and water, so that he could properly clean and assess her head wound. He also needed to move her to somewhere boundlessly more sheltered than their current position. With haste the hatter set to work. He gingerly moved her into a small room within the crumbled cottage, finding it to have a small bed that yet had some use, and a largely intact ceiling. After setting Alice gently upon the floor he moved the bed closer to the fireplace in the left upper corner. Gentle and anxious hands then conscientiously transferred her into the bed. He managed to find a pitcher, and bowl, along with several blankets, one of which he proceeded to tear into long thin pieces. After laying his equipment out on a small table that he had moved next to the bedside he proceeded to break apart any remaining furniture and throw it into the fire as he had done before during their stay in the cabin in the woods. Before long he had a roaring fire dancing within the hearth, a pitcher full of fresh water, and he was ready to set to work. The needle did not take long to heat. Far longer, it took, to thread the damned thing with his unsteady hands. And yet the task was completed, and satisfactorily so.

Stitching Alice up had to have been the hardest thing the hatter had ever done. He was lucky that she had not moved, had not awakened. Her screams of pain would have been more than he could have taken. As it stood Underlands champion was now clean, stitched together, and her wounds were dressed. He'd had to slide her dress off of her torso in order to properly wrap her shoulders, and the sight of her made him weep. The blood from her head wound had largely over over exaggerated her head injury. It was little more than a shallow cut and he had not needed to bandage it. Her shoulders were going to be fine now, they would heal together and were no longer bleeding. What worried him the most was the amount of blood she had lost, and the injury inside of her head where he could not see. He was mad, insane even, but he was no fool. She had hit her head when she fell. He knew it to be true. He'd seen the signs before, and had even experienced it himself. The only thing he could do now was wait, and wallow.

He should not have touched her, should not have loved her. Everything he loved would be gone if she died. Everything he touched fell to ash. His parents, his brothers, and sisters. His home, his queen, and his sanity. Everything fell through his fingers like so much water. He sat there for hours blaming himself. If she died he would follow. There would be no life, no Underland, without her. He did not want to exist in a world without her smile, without her cornflower hued eyes that sparkled when she laughed. How did everything come to this? When would his world stop falling apart? He did not eat, he did not sleep. Lost in his sorrow he wept until his eyes would weep no more. On the dawn of the third day, when Alice had yet to awaken, he fell into a comatose slumber at her side hand entwined in her own.

When Alice awoke the first thing to register was that she oh so warm. It was a pleasant kind of feeling, at least until the dull ache in her head made itself known. She reached up to rub her temples only to cry out in pain. Her shoulder was set aflame with the movement and very suddenly Tarrant was awake, flying into motion to tend to her needs. It wasn't until he was satisfied that she was no longer hungry, nor thirsty, and in the least amount of pain possible that she learned she had been out for three days. Her head felt foggy, mired and heavy and her shoulders stung with every breath. She recounted to him the tale of how she'd managed to worm her way out of the beasts grasp and had plummeted to the ground. Admittedly it had been a foolish move, and he chided her for it. She told him of her dreams, of the odd mouse named Mallymkun and the beast with the white and black speckled fur. Friends, he had told her with a smile. She was remembering, and Tarrant's heart was singing. It wasn't too late. His Alice was back, or soon to be at any rate. He told her stories of Mally, and of how she had befriended the frumious bandersnatch. He regaled her with the tale of how she had slain the Jaberwok and restored the White Queen Mirana to power.

"The White Queen?" she had asked him. "Who is she? There was a voice as I slept, and it told me that I needed to find the White Queen.".

The hatter divulged unto her the history between the White and Red Queens. He told her about Iracabeth, the 'Bludy big heed', and how she was a tyrannical and immature queen filled with jealous wrath. He recounted to her all of the horrible things she had done, and how Mirana, the kind and gentle White Queen, had only banished her though her crimes were worthy of death. "She made a vow never to hurt a living soul you know." he had told her with genuine admiration in his eyes. The loyalty that he felt for this White Queen went not unnoticed by Alice.

She wished that she could remember this person for whom the hatter had the utmost respect. _"Such a person must be worth knowing"_ she thought to herself. Another question entered Alice's mind, as she listened to Tarrant speak. "Up until this point you've always spoken with a thick brogue. I am very confused I must admit..." Truthfully she wasn't sure as to how she would ask why his accent had changed. So in typical Alice fashion she simply spat it out as it entered her head. "Were you pretending? Or are you pretending now?"

The milliner chuckled at her before explaining. "My accent changes when I am under the influence of...stronger emotions..." He trailed off not keen on explaining in great detail that his brogue is exposed when angry or grieved, and he especially did not want to tell her that his brogue was especially thick when aroused.

And just as she had done numerous times before she simply accepted his explanation. She did not question him further. None of any of this made any sense to her and her logical side was screaming that the things that had happened since she encountered the looking glass were impossible. She supposed, however, that many would believe a woman captain to be impossible as well. Truly, impossible things were some of Alice Kingsleighs' favorite things. It was all moot though, wasn't it? Whether it was possible or not it was happening and no amount of sitting around in denial would change that. She hadn't really given much thought to the craziness surrounding her. Honestly she wasn't sure what she had been thinking, but saving Underland hadn't been chief amongst her thoughts. She had been too dazed and confused, trying to make sense of it all and expecting to wake up at any moment. It was clear to her now though that she would not be waking up. That was when Alice had realized that she didn't need to make sense of anything. She couldn't anyways, and in the end the result would be the same. So the champion of the White Queen decided to accept everything, as it came, and as it was. Up until this point she had simply been wasting time. That would end. Now.

It wasn't easy to slide to the edge of the bed, harder still was it to actually stand. But Alice was astute. Hatter was currently occupied with gathering fresh water from a nearby source and she knew he'd try to force her to rest. Sitting about had never been a particular habit of hers though and she was ready to get back on the trail. It really didn't occur to her that he would force her back to bed nevertheless, nor did she stop to remember that she knew not where to go. This brashness was typical Alice behavior however, and Tarrant had knew that she would try it. He returned just in time to catch her as she almost plummeted face first into the floor.

"Now Alice, you know that you should be resting." He grinned at her saucily. She was not amused but that, in turn, meant that he was. Immeasurably so. Alice huffed in annoyance as he gently set her back upon the bed. "I know that you are tired of waiting, but we cannot have your wounds re-opening." he was chastising her, and Alice saw red.

"We've been sitting around here for a week Tarrant! If I sit any longer I am going to sprout roots!" she folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't be silly dear, you are certainly not going to sprout roots." He looked at her then with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he added "I've been slashing them away every night you know. They'll never get past me, I'll protect you.". Alice was sure that he was teasing her, at least, until she wasn't so sure. But then he winked at her and she threw herself back, groaning a bit as her sore shoulders hit the mattress. He was definitely teasing her. Suddenly the light and teasing look in Tarrant's eyes was gone. "You know I love you, don't you Alice?" He looked lost, in a whirlwind of emotions, and Alice had to realize how worried he must be for her. She nodded slowly, embarrassed at having been so selfish. "I know that this is hard for you and I know that you want to... go home..." the last two words were barely whispers upon his lips. "But really, I can't bear to see you injured so, and I... I cannot face the idea of you dying. Please. Humor me".

Alice knew that he was sincere. She sighed and patted the space beside her, indicating that he should sit. The bed sunk slightly under the hatters weight as he sat beside his heart and took her hands into his own. "I promise to try, but I cannot guarantee. This-"she motioned to her laying position "is driving me mad, although I quite thought myself to be already there". She smiled wryly at the man holding her hands. "Maybe it would help if you could tell me some more stories about Underland... Will you tell me about the previous times I was here? You said I have been here more than once, right?".

So he told her. About the time when she was a child and the tea parties they had shared. He told her about how she grew so large during his own trial that she ripped the roof off of the courthouse. He told her about Cheshire, and about Absalom. "It was Chess that first introduced us you know" he had told her conspiratorially. "Chess and I had a but of a falling out, I don't know that we will ever be as close as we once were, but he did save my neck from the bloody big head's executioners axe so perhaps we will be alright now.". He told her about Nivens and how it had been his fault that she had come to Underland both the second and last time she had been here. As Tarrant told it, she had followed the always tardy white rabbit down the rabbit hole and ended up in someplace the hatter had called the room of doors. "You know, every time you've been here you've been insistent that you were dreaming. Last time too." He smiled a sad sort of smile and continued on "Last time you came you slayed the Jaberwok".

"What in the world is a Jaberwok?" She asked, intrigued.

"Nasty, evil creature that. Like a giant flying lizard that spits fire".

"Oh, you mean like a dragon?" Alice asked excitedly. She had slain a dragon? The idea seemed so surreal and exciting. Why ever did she leave?

Of course Tarrant had no idea what a dragon was so Alice excitedly explained it to him. "Yes, I suppose the Jaberwok was akin to a dragon then." He told her.

"Do you remember that night we stood together on that balcony, or was that just a dream?" she asked him quietly. She was almost afraid of the answer.

"I'll never forget that night" he told her earnestly. "I wanted to kiss you very much that night. But you still believed all of it to be a dream". There was a glistening in his eyes as he continued. "And the next day, after you defeated the Jaberwok, when you were leaving... I wanted so badly to beg you you to stay. I should have told you how I felt then, but truly how could I ever receive your love in return? You are Underlands champion, and I am a simple and mad hatter... I couldn't stop you from leaving, and I felt as if my heart had been rent in two". His eyes were downcast then, but Alice knew that they must be gray and lifeless.

"Oh Hatter..." Alice sat up and pulled him into her arms. She did not know what to say, so instead she held him. Her heart ached for this man, and Alice was so confused by the emotions running rampant within her. There was no more talk as she pulled him down to lay beside her. She snuggled into him, and while listening to the beat of his heart she fell fast asleep.

She remembered him. Oh, she had remembered Mally and the bandersnatch as well, but the part that most excited Tarrant was that she remembered him. He had not told her of that night on the balcony, and yet she had recalled it. For a moment the mad milliner dared to hope. The feeling of her body draped across his was everything he had ever dreamed of and the hatter found himself quite content to hold her close. Could it really be possible that she would remember him and even perhaps return his love? It was more than he could hope for and certainly all he wanted. She had not said the words back, but she hadn't needed to. He did not tell her that he loved her to elicit a like response. He told her because he wanted her to know. It was foolishness, he was sure of it, but a part of him believed that Alice truly loved him in return. He would fight for that, and he would not let her go so easily this time. After Alice had left things were bleak. Though the sun shone brightly and the kingdom was once again merry his heart had been empty and black. He would not go back to that. This time Tarrant would not allow her to escape him without a fight. Resolutions set, it wasn't long before Underlands most beloved mad milliner succumbed to slumber with his arms wrapped securely around his heart.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Vocab:**_

 _ **Tae me an aw ye blaitherin' divit! Whit exactly is it 'at ye ur feckin' afraid ay=To me as well you blathering idiot! What exactly is it that you're fucking afraid of**_

Chapter Five

The next morning Tarrant had arisen before Alice. Her head was upon his chest and his heart thudded a steady rythym in her ears. She had her arms and legs wrapped around him, as if to secure him to her. The feeling of her breath tickling his skin through his clothes was indescribable. She was here, she was real, and she was alive. He looked upon her sleeping face and melted. He didn't really want to get up, but he knew that she wouldn't accept staying put much longer. Today he would check her wounds, and luck willing, they'd be on their way to Marmoreal to find Mirana, the White Queen. He gently freed himself of her warm embrace, one limb at a time, before standing. He looked down upon her as she frowned at the loss of his warmth and smiled. He tucked the worn blanket around her shoulders and as she snuggled deeper into the mattress he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

By the time Hatter came back with breakfast, scones and tea, Alice was sitting upright and looking positively less cadaverous. "So, we need to find the White Queen, right? Well, I remember that you mention that no one knows where she is... So how do you propose we find her?" Alice was most definitely ready for action. Laying around had been tantamount to murder to Underlands' poor champion.

"Well, I'd wager that the best place to begin would be searching for Mirana in Marmoreal.". Having seen the questioning look in his compatriots eyes he continued "Marmoreal is where the White Queen resides, it is the capitol of her territory". The set of his chin and the gleam in his eyes told Alice that it was time. It was time to be serious, and it was time to save Underland.

Despite Alice's resolve the pair were moving quite slowly. As it turned out they could only walk so fast and so far. _"What I wouldn't do for a horse right now"_ Alice thought to herself wistfully. They were traveling east, at least that's what she supposed. Things were very different in Underland and she expected it was entirely possible for east to be west or north here. Or perhaps they had their own standard of measuring direction. In Upperland though, this would have been east. As Alice was often prone to do when walking almost mindlessly, she began to think, and lately whenever Alice thought she thought of Hatter. He was real. She remembered how she had known that even before being abducted, but it hadn't really...sunk in. If he was real... _"This is all real"_ it struck her like a bullet to the heart _"Tarrant, Mallymkun, all of it, all of this is real!"_. For a moment the weight of the realization made her pause in her stride. Tarrant, having seen that she was no longer moving, was quickly upon her.

"Are you tired?" he'd asked her.

"No, I'm fine". And somehow she was. It didn't scare her as perhaps it should. But if this place was real... It was all Alice could do to hope. As they had begun moving again she recalled what had occurred betwixt them in the dilapidated cabin in the woods. She ought to regret that, as all proper, sophisticated women should. But Alice, though unsure of many things, was sure of at least this one thing: she didn't regret it. She was glad it had happened. She wasn't really a proper lady anyhow, and although she couldn't quite decipher what her heart was telling her this man meant to her, she was very much aware that it was not some one night conquest. To Hatter or herself. No, it had been just as real as he was. Real, and... _"more?"_ she asked herself, not sure of how to phrase what desperately needed to be phrased. But it was. It had felt like more, more than she had ever known, more than herself. For a moment in time she had felt as one with her Hatter and her world had consisted only of him and her and this... oneness. She would very much like to feel it again.

As they traveled on-wards Alice could swear that the atmosphere seemed to lift ever so imperceptibly. They crossed through endlessly open road, rolling hills and dainty flowers were barely visible to her accustomed eyes, the darkness was all encroaching. And yet, something felt odd, out of place even. For all that it felt as if she had seen all of this before there was a niggling feeling in the back of her skull. The whole of Underland had been dark since she arrived, and it all felt the same until now. She couldn't put the feelings into words though, and decided to settle for hoping she could figure it out later. Tarrant, too, was oddly quiet. She looked up at him, finding his glowing golden orbs focused in the distance. She idly wondered if he was there, or here with her. She leaned down and grabbed his hand, and he retaliated by covering her hand with his own. They held hands as they walked and soon Tarrant began to fill the silence. He talked about anything, and everything. They were words to fill the void, the quiet, but Alice did not mind the sound of his voice. She missed his brogue, that voice that sent shivers down her spine and fire in her belly. But this voice was nice too. Lilted and lisped, it both endeared him to her and soothed her fears. His voice became white noise in the background as she began to tire and become unable to keep up.

It wasn't until Tarrant began to feel as if he were dragging her along that he looked down and realized that Alice was indeed very tired. She seemed as if she would drop at any moment. He became immediately conscious of the fact that there were no houses to take shelter in, nor trees under which to hide. He was not entirely certain whether the wraith that had attacked them prior had any friends, or whether it was a freak occurrence but he really didn't like the idea of chancing it. Really, he highly doubted it had been coincidence, his instincts were screaming at him that Alice's kidnapping had been relevant to what was happening currently in Underland. It really didn't take the Hatter long to come up with a solution, and this was how the two found themselves tiny, and taking refuge underneath his hat.

"It really is amazing some of the things you pull out of thin air" Alice had told him.

He simply retorted that he had obviously never pulled anything out of _thin_ air, leaving Alice to wonder what exactly his words to meant to mean. Regardless of the method the pishalver had done its job well, as they were currently so small that the grass looked as trees to them, and they now had clothes and blankets befitting their new stature. Several tiny lamps dotted the ground inside of his hat and there were two beds tucked away on one edge. Looking upon the beds with disbelief Alice articulated "I KNOW you did not pull those out of your pockets! How do you do that?". He merely shrugged in response. She was utterly flabbergasted. Either he really didn't want to tell her or he didn't know himself, but Tarrant would not budge with an answer.

Really though Tarrant's mind was simply occupied with other things as he busied himself with getting ready for bed. His mind was split in two, each half of a differing opinion in regards to his dilemma, and he was heroically attempting to hold onto what little self control he had. Alice was healed, they were back on the road, and yet all day all he could think about is whether or not he could get Alice to let him touch her again, and whether or not he should. _"Definitely shouldn't!"_ shouted one half of his brain, but the other was quick to respond with a **"Wa ever nae?** ". _"Oh you know bloody well why not! She's an innocent!"._ **"Nae anymair!"**. The brutish outlander in him was chuckling now. **"Nae efter th' way Ah took 'er! She certainly seemed tae enjoy herself lest time, an' if she enjoyed it wa shooldnae Ah?"**. His other self had to, somewhat begrudgingly, agree with the his outlandish half's logic. _"But she is worth so much more than that to me!"._ **"Tae me an aw ye blaitherin' divit! Whit exactly is it 'at ye ur feckin' afraid ay?!".** _"I could ruin everything! Besides the most probable possibility that Alice will leave, who is to say that she can look at me without disgust now?! It's been a long time since I, or perhaps rather we, have been interested or involved with any other female besides Alice. Female emotions and logic are...odd at best! And honestly! She deserved much better than what we, or perhaps rather YOU gave her!"_.

In Alice's eyes, the Hatter was being most oddly quiet. Almost as quiet as he had been before, when they hadn't felt on the best of terms. She didn't like it. She peered up at him from the covers of her own bed, and noticed that he was sitting on the edge of his barely moving. In fact she could barely hear his breathing. The girl threw back her covers and, after standing, teetered to his bed and sat beside him. She didn't even think about it as she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head upon his chest. It wasn't comfortable but it was comforting and she was tired. Tarrant gathered her into his arms and steadily carried her back to her own bed, but he would not return to his own bed that night. Alice's hand on his forearm and the pleading look in her eyes were more than he could stand against, and he found himself on his back in her bed with a very tired, very warm , and very asleep Alice wrapped around him. Alice was laying on her side, head on his chest and hair splayed in every which direction. Though her legs and arms were wrapped around him she would occasionally move her arm. She was everywhere, all he could see, all he could feel, all he could smell. He felt like he was drowning in her, but instead of dying he was sure that this was the secret to life. This, this must be how one lived. The tender ache for her in his heart almost made him forget about the lust. Almost. But then she shifted and her fingers brushed against his chest, or his stomach. Her leg lightly grazed his groin and he groaned in agony. He was already stiff when he felt her legs wrap around his own causing her vaginal lips to kiss his leg with its warmth. His manhood throbbed and he resigned himself to a night of agony. That is, until her palm slid across the tip of his shaft and he couldn't restrain himself anymore. He desperately needed her. He was in luck, for Alice had rolled onto her other side after her naughty hands indiscretion and was currently facing the opposite direction. He pulled her back against his chest, she really was such a light thing. He had her flush against his chest now, tucked into his arms, and she was still fast asleep. Ever so briefly his mind reminded him that he should be stopping himself, but Alice wiggled her delicious bottom against his crotch and all rational thought finally, finally, went out the window. He dropped his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled. Oh! But she smelled so heavenly and delectable. **"Jist a taste..."** he whispered to himself before he began nibbling and sucking upon her neck. This time he was not the only one to groan. His traitorous hand snaked its way down her belly and lifted the hem of her dress. Tarrant dipped his fingers into her folds and, finding the small nub at the top, began rubbing it tenderly. Alice moaned in her sleep and arched against him and into his touch. He pinched the bundle of nerves gently before inserting a single digit into her cavern. In and out he moved his finger, occasionally stopping to curl his finger in a 'come hither' motion inside of her. Shortly there were two fingers inside of her, and his hand was becoming drenched in her desire. Alice's body writhed against him, even as her mind was still locked away in slumber. Tarrant returned his lip to her neck and suckled in earnest at the skin there, creating loud, angry bruises against her skin. His ministrations against her body left not only Alice wanting, body Tarrant as well and he ground his erection against her rump urgently. Without warning her body became rigid, her back arched, and her womanhood clenched his fingers mercilessly as she came. Hatter released her from his hold, and she fell upon her back as he moved away from her. He sat up, on his knees at the edge of the bed, and looked upon her. His gaze darkened as he took the sight of her in. Pale lashes rested against her cheeks and her petal-like lips were open slightly. Her face was flushed and rosy and her hair sprawled out around her like a halo, golden and glorious. Her arms were lifted, slightly above her head and her dress was wrinkled and mussed. She turned her head to the side then, baring the bruises to his tumultuous gaze and he was upon her. He nudged her legs to either side and, starting with her ankles then working his way up, began laving open mouthed kisses upon her legs. He was met in the middle by her most sacred place and without any hesitation he planted a kiss right on the mound. Skilled fingers pulled apart the lips and his masterful tongue swept against her vaginal slit. Two fingers found themselves once again inside of her cavern as he licked and sucked upon her clitoris. It wasn't long before she came again, and again, and then once more before he was sated of her taste.

As he was about to retreat he felt hands gripping his hair, and tugging him upwards. _"Shit! She's awake!"._ His thoughts were panicked now. He was prepared to be met with a look of contempt and disgust, but instead was met with a smoldering and extremely aroused pair of cornflower eyes. _**"'at doesnae swatch loch disgoost tae me"**_ his outlandish half was quick to supply, rather smugly.

Alice was exceedingly surprised, and delightfully so, when she awoke after receiving a earth shattering orgasm. She had pretended to remain asleep for two more, but could no longer maintain the ruse. "Tarrant?" her voice was husky and low, barely recognizable to her own ears. "Please... Won't you make love to me?".

Tarrant didn't need to be asked twice. With a single thrust he was inside of her twisting her insides with his cock. Her legs wrapped around his waist, driving him even deeper inside and she gasped at the sensation. Hips moving in time with his, Alice moaned and clung to him for dear life. It was tender, and slow, nothing like the hurried coupling from before and she could feel his love filling her up until there wasn't a single place within her not touched by him. And when he came he gathered her into his arms, holding her tight as he spilled his seed inside of her pulsating cunt. He held her firmly even as she came undone around him. Without removing his manhood he re-positioned them so that they were laying on their sides, and still embracing her, still inside of her the pair quickly succumbed to slumber.

AN:I am terribly sorry it took me so long to update, and I know this chappie is a little short and not very eventful, I promise to do better with the next chappie and hopefully can end on another note besides the two passing out. We will be joined by some other old friends soon! And things are going to get exciting, just bear with me 'cuz my schedule is kinda crazy and hectic right now. I work two jobs and have two kiddos and a really clingy husband lol. But yeah, let me know what you think in the reviews and as always constructive criticism is not only welcome but highly sought after! Love ya guys! Until next time!


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